'Biggest Loser': Everyone deserves a second chance

Season 8 Biggest Loser team

NBC Universal

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Tune in to the Tuesday night premiere of Season 8 of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and you'll find that each of the 16 competitors have something profound in common (other than the obvious.) They've each met with heartbreak and tragedy, and each has turned to food for comfort. America, meet the Season 8 contestants of "The Biggest Loser," and why they say they know they'll lose the weight for good this time: --Rene Lynch

Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Tune in to the Tuesday night premiere of Season 8 of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and you'll find that each of the 16 competitors have something profound in common (other than the obvious.) They've each met with heartbreak and tragedy, and each has turned to food for comfort. America, meet the Season 8 contestants of "The Biggest Loser," and why they say they know they'll lose the weight for good this time: --Rene Lynch (NBC Universal)

Shay Sorrells, 30, a social worker from Newport Beach At 5 feet 8 inches and 476 pounds, she is the single biggest contestant to ever appear on the show. Married with two step kids, she says buying clothing is nearly impossible. As a social worker, she spends her days helping others. But she does nothing to help herself. Determined to rise above her background -- her mother died at 48 of a drug overdose, and Shay was raised in foster care -- to date her determination has been focused outward, not inward. That is about to change, she said. How she knows this is it: "One thing you can say about me is that I have perserverence," she said. Based on her upbringing, "I should be on welfare some place...[But] I will not give up."

Shay Sorrells, 30, a social worker from Newport Beach At 5 feet 8 inches and 476 pounds, she is the single biggest contestant to ever appear on the show. Married with two step kids, she says buying clothing is nearly impossible. As a social worker, she spends her days helping others. But she does nothing to help herself. Determined to rise above her background -- her mother died at 48 of a drug overdose, and Shay was raised in foster care -- to date her determination has been focused outward, not inward. That is about to change, she said. How she knows this is it: "One thing you can say about me is that I have perserverence," she said. Based on her upbringing, "I should be on welfare some place...[But] I will not give up." (NBC Universal)